New kitten not eating, what might be wrong?

nikribble

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Hey everyone! I'm new here, wondering if you can help me out with something...

I just got a kitten on Wed at the animal shelter in my area. I've never gotten a cat there before but when I picked her up they were like "Oh, she's a girl, let me get her fixed for you." Supposedly she's only 10 weeks old, I thought the youngest you could fix a cat at was 12 weeks?

Anyway, she woke up fine, I waited the twelve hours recommended before giving her some water, and in the middle of the night she woke me up mewing and I gave her a few pieces of hard cat food, which she ate and threw up. I thought that was normal because of the anesthesia, but since then she hasn't really been eating. I caught her trying some of the dog food, and after a while she threw that up, too. And the thing is that she meows, especially when I'm eating, but she won't even sniff anything I put in front of her. I even mixed some hard cat food with a little milk for pets and warmed it up, but she had a few bites and that was it. She pooed after that, and it looked normal, not loose or too hard. My bf told me that when I left for work, he got her to eat a little out of his hand.

She's been drinking plenty of water, thank goodness.

Another thing is that she's so CLINGY, and a bit lethargic. She doesn't play almost at all, just walks around or lays down on the couch or on my lap. If I leave her in my bedroom by herself or if she suddenly finds herself alone, she'll start meowing at the top of her little lungs, and it's getting kind of irritating on the rest of the family.

We have two dogs, a Chihuahua and a German Shepherd. I thought it might be the stress of meeting the dogs, but besides a few hissing fits with the German Shepherd it's been okay. In fact, she actually likes hanging out with the Chihuahua.

So what do you think might be wrong? She won't eat, and she's so skinny, and she doesn't really play... could it be the operation at such a young age, or something more serious?

Thanks!
 

snake_lady

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Originally Posted by nikribble

So what do you think might be wrong? She won't eat, and she's so skinny, and she doesn't really play... could it be the operation at such a young age, or something more serious?

Thanks!
She needs to see a vet.

Kittens can go downhill in a hurry and if she's not eating, lethargic, no playing, etc. at 10wks, she may have some serious health issues.

If the kitten is 2lbs, alot of clinics will spay/neuter them..... so nothing abnormal about that.

But if she hasn't eaten well since Wed. she needs a check up at the vet ASAP. (I lost a kitten in a matter of 3 days...)
 

mrblanche

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You may need to find an emergency vet. However, failing that, some smelly wet cat food might help. Hard cat food is, of course, harder to digest. If you have a pet store nearby, try to find a wet kitten food. Your kitten needs the higher fat and protein in kitten food.

And, then, you might try some pureed baby food, preferably chicken. Be SURE it doesn't have any garlic or onion in it; those can cause anemia in cats.

Keep asking questions! We certainly want your baby to be healthy and happy.
 

coolcat

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Run with a VET!....


Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

She needs to see a vet.
Kittens can go downhill in a hurry and if she's not eating, lethargic, no playing, etc. at 10wks, she may have some serious health issues.
If the kitten is 2lbs, alot of clinics will spay/neuter them..... so nothing abnormal about that.
But if she hasn't eaten well since Wed. she needs a check up at the vet ASAP. (I lost a kitten in a matter of 3 days...)
is Absolutely right...

Originally Posted by mrblanche

You may need to find an emergency vet. However, failing that, some smelly wet cat food might help. Hard cat food is, of course, harder to digest. If you have a pet store nearby, try to find a wet kitten food. Your kitten needs the higher fat and protein in kitten food.
And, then, you might try some pureed baby food, preferably chicken. Be SURE it doesn't have any garlic or onion in it; those can cause anemia in cats.
Keep asking questions! We certainly want your baby to be healthy and happy.
...that´s the true!...

Keep us updated about you poor baby...
 

stephanietx

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If you don't have an emergency vet in your area, try boiling some chicken in plain water. Shred it up and add in a bit of the broth so that it's a good consistency for your little baby. Then, warm it up a bit (not too hot) and see if she'll eat that and hold it down.
 

gaogier

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Try different foods...

My cat wont eat anything other than 1 brand and type...

When we got him, they was like, cats will eat anything, so we recommend Go-cats...

We got go cats food, didnt eat it... we thought, give him a day...

nothing...

so, we went to a shop, got him many different brands of cat food... nothing...

then whiskers came alone... he was intrested, but nothing...

We put a jelly kitten whiskers pouch down, eat it all up...

My cat will only touch whiskers kitten in jelly...

My other cat will not eat catnip... he hates the stuff...

I think it could be trail and error...
 
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nikribble

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Sorry I took so long to get back to everyone! Thank you for the advice, little Lina is doing 100% better!

The same day I posted the thread, I went home and my bf told me that he had given her some boiled chicken. She didn't want it at first, but after seeing Chilly (my Chihuahua) eating it, she tried it too and ate quite a bit. Then I tried pouring a very little bit of oil from a can of tuna over her hard food and heating it up, and she ate it!

Since then it's been all up hill, she started devouring tons of food, even demanding her morning meal if I didn't get out of bed! I was so happy! She's been eating her solid food all by itself, using the litterbox just fine, and now she's playing with anything or anyone who crosses her path! She plays around chasing the chickens outside (and having them chase her lol) and plays with the dogs, too.

I still think it wasn't time for her to be fixed, she was only 10 weeks and no way did she weigh 2 pounds, but she's totally recovered. We just got the stitch removed and she didn't even make a fuss about that.


Thanks everyone for the good wishes!
 

StefanZ

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Wonderful!

She was probably still recovering after the neutering . She had perhaps a little infection or something. As she is much better, with a little luck.

Her being clingy and a somewhat lethargic tells it was not only lack of appetite.



Congrats and good luck!
 
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